Ever In Your Favor
by Kierielle Huntington
Summary: Hunger Games AU. When Nancy is reaped and Frank volunteers for his younger brother, their lives will never be the same. May the odds be ever in your favor...


**A/N: **This idea simply would not let me be. Just a heads-up, if you are unfamiliar with the premise and characters of the Hunger Games books (or films), it may not be as enjoyable to you - but everyone is welcome! Special thanks to my sister, ARS, for all the enthusiasm. :)

_{You know the drill; I neither own Nancy Drew/The Hardy Boys nor the Hunger Games. ;) }_

* * *

_No, no, NO..._

I'm standing so still I think I've stopped breathing. I didn't react like this a minute ago when my name was called, so why am I like this now?

I knew no one would volunteer for me - George and Bess would have tried, but they are both nineteen now. They are too old. I'm nearly too old. But not quite…

I'm a logical person. I always have been.

I know that outward displays of weakness can be a fatal error.

But now that it's Frank Hardy up on the platform beside me, willingly taking his younger brother's place, I want to scream.

I don't.

I don't scream, I don't glance over, I don't acknowledge that I even know who I'm standing next to.

Even so, in my peripheral vision I notice that Frank flinches when his own gaze lands on his mother sobbing in the dirt, Mr. Hardy fruitlessly trying to comfort her.

There is no comfort here.

I cannot look at my own father too long. He looks utterly stricken, and our elderly neighbor Hannah is trying to support him to the best of her ability.

I'm his only living family.

_For how long?_ The morbid thought comes to me unbidden.

I finally look at Frank Hardy. I can't stop myself anymore - it hurts too much to look at Dad, so I pick the lesser pain.

His face is a mask of stone. I may not personally be best friends with the Hardys, but there's been only one other time that I've seen him wear anything but an expression of calm forbearance and wry, good-natured humor.

Frank doesn't deserve this. None of us do, of course, but he...he's a Hardy boy.

You couldn't find a kinder, more generous family in the district if you tried. Possibly in all of Panem.

Effie's tinkling voice cuts through my thoughts. She's saying how splendid this all is, how exciting, and I feel sick.

There's no way I can watch him die.

I probably should be more concerned with making sure that I don't die, but all I can think right now is_ anyone but him._

_Anyone but him._

Then I notice Joe, who is being restrained by Peacekeepers. He's fighting against their hold, trying to reach the platform, but it's a losing battle.

One of the Peacekeepers boxes Joe's ears and Frank's stoic expression breaks.

I turn my face away. _Keep it together, Drew._

It's all a blur as they lead us away.

We belong to the Capital now.

**~HG~**

In our district's Justice Building, they let us say goodbye to our loved ones. It's an excruciating ordeal - I embrace a sobbing Bess and a misty-eyed George, followed by dear Hannah and then Ned.

To my surprise, Joe Hardy briefly comes to see me. His face is reddened by tears he won't let anyone see fall, but he hugs me and murmurs a few words of courage. When he leaves I'm left with a sense of brutal loss. How does he feel, knowing that his beloved brother has taken his place? How will he be able to endure _watching?_

Then Dad comes in.

And I thought I knew grief before.

He holds me in a long, desperate hug, and for the first time today my tears come.

"I'm so sorry, baby girl," he says, and I let out a breath that sounds more like a sob.

"I'm proud of you," he continues, "and I love you, Nancy. You are a blessing and no matter what happens, I'm proud of you."

I manage to tell him that that means the world to me and that I love him, too, and then visiting time is over.

To the Capital I go.

**~HG~**

At the glittering Capital, I am scrubbed an insulting amount even though cleanliness is something I naturally prize and then dressed in ridiculous extravagance.

Dinner is amazing. Not quite worth all this, but definitely a plus in a sea of minuses.

Over the course of the next few days, we have fittings, interviews, training, and we are ranked by our talents. Frank and I both do well.

I'm not surprised.

I am, however, concerned. Being noticed isn't always a good thing in the Games.

**~HG~**

Today, Caesar interviews me again, and he asks me a question I don't expect. So far, I've been calm and collected during the interviews, but this question...with this question, I struggle to come up with a quick, believable lie.

"Nancy?" Caesar prompts. "How well do you know your district partner?"

I could offer up a true confession. I may not be close to the Hardys now, but I used to be. We used to be inseparable.

I could tell Caesar that Frank Hardy and I were thirteen when he saved my skin.

We were out past curfew.

We knew better._ I_ knew better.

I knew we were running a risk, but I had to see who was stealing from Hannah's garden. Every morning for three days, she had found fewer vegetables in her garden; someone had to be taking them in the night. I asked Frank and Joe to help me on my stakeout, and they readily agreed.

I was crouched in the foliage across the street, while the boys each had their own posts, with Joe's being farther off so someone could watch the alleys.

We had been staked out for nearly an hour when a Peacekeeper found me.

He dragged me by the arm out into the street. He told me I needed to go home and that I had no business being out at this hour.

I informed him that since the Peacekeepers had no intention of helping protect the neighborhood, someone had to.

Someone being me.

Let's just say that he was not pleased.

He twisted my arm so sharply that I let out a pained little squeak.

"You, _you brat_," he said, giving me a hard shake while somehow still twisting my arm. It hurt. At this point, I screamed. Loudly enough that my partner in crime heard me.

"I'm going to have to show you your place," the Peacekeeper hissed.

He shoved me to the ground stomach-down and I'm ninety-nine percent sure he was about to dislocate my shoulder - if not break my arms altogether - but that was when Frank reached us.

He took the scene in, and without more than a heartbeat's time, he kicked the Peacekeeper in the shin. Hard. Remarkably hard.

"You _coward!"_

The Peacekeeper suddenly wasn't very interested in punishing me.

"Go," Frank shouted.

When he saw my hesitation, he mouthed_ please_ \- and for the life of me I don't know why I listened.

But I did. I ran home with my flesh unbroken and he was beaten within an inch of his life.

However, I don't tell Caesar - or the hungry cameras - any of this.

Instead I say, "Not very well. We go to the same school though." Like every other kid in our district.

Caesar laughs brightly. "Well, I'm sure you've gotten to know each other better over this shared experience."

I agree, but that's a lie, too.

We haven't spoken to each other at all - other than in public - since we were thirteen.

And that's my fault and my fault alone.

* * *

**TBC**


End file.
